‘We tend foreign patients’: Hamshahri reports on AriaMedTour

As a leading medical tourism facilitator in Iran, AriaMedTour company has become the center of attention of the Iranian journalists who want to report on medical tourism in the country. After being featured in the Arabic-language Al-Alam TV network, Iran Kala TV channel and the English-language Financial Tribune newspaper, now AriaMedTour became the subject of a report by Hamshahri—a major Persian-language daily newspaper widely published and distributed in Iran.

Tourism is one of the main sources of income for a growing number of countries including Iran’s neighbors, reports Hamshahri.  One of the sectors of this industry is medical tourism, a relatively new industry worth billions of dollars that saw a number of Iranian companies entering into it over the last few years. Mohammad Nasri, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AriaMedTour had an interview with Hamshahri’s correspondent Azadeh Bagheri to talk about his company and the current state of health tourism in Iran as well as the challenges facing the industry.

Healthcare services in Iran are available at lower prices compared to other countries, and of course, the quality is very high in some fields, says Mr. Nasri. He cites the long wait lists for some medical treatment in some countries as another reason, other than high prices, for the patients’ tendency to travel to other countries in order to receive a treatment much earlier. “In a developed country like Canada, for example, a patient has to be on a waitlist for 110 days to get a knee replacement,” he says.

Touching on the advantages of health tourism services in Iran, Nasri mentions two main factors: low prices, which is a result of the weak currency of the country, and high quality of healthcare services, which is mainly a result of the extensive expertise of Iranian doctors. “In Australia, you can have a mediocre rhinoplasty at $13,000 to $15,000, while the candidates can have the same procedure with much higher quality at $4,000 to $5,000, including the costs of the flight tickets, accommodation for 7 days, meals, transportation, and souvenirs.”

Why journalists choose AriaMedTour for reporting?

AriaMedTour has emerged as the most reputable company specialized in health tourism in Iran and one of the most well-known in the region. The company is run by a group of young educated people and supported by the governmental organizations. After making a name for itself, AriaMedTour has captured the attention of the media, which started to look at it as an excellent model for professional medical tourism organizations, and to make the activity of the company the subject of their journalism.

The group also has an active presence in specialized events being held throughout the region. It represented Iranian medical tourism at the International Medical Tourism Exhibition and Conference that was held in Muscat, Oman in April 2018. The fact that many of the participants in the event had known AriaMedTour is a testament to the reputation of the company among the experts of the medical tourism industry.

The company is currently planning to expand its operation beyond the Iranian borders and open branches in other regional countries. During the Oman exhibition, the officials of the company held initial negotiations to open an office in the country with the aim of securing a foothold in the Persian Gulf region.

After making a name for itself, AriaMedTour captured the attention of the media, which started to look at it as an excellent model for professional medical tourism organizations, and make the activity of the company the subject of their journalism.